Mainebiz

V O L . X X V N O. X V I I A U G U S T 5 , 2 0 1 9 18 settled in Portland and members of the gay community when AIDS was a taboo subject. Lindemann credits an "extraordinary team of employees" for helping create an atmosphere where everyone is treated with respect. "ey're here to serve customers a cup of coffee," she says. The times they were a changin' On July 1, 1994, Coffee By Design opened its doors to 250 customers — 10 times more than they expected. Many were in the neighborhood that day to buy tickets at the State eatre for a Bob Dylan concert. Business has been booming ever since, bringing wide acclaim to the brand and the co-founders behind it who were honored as Mainebiz Business Leaders of the Year in 2005. e business has grown since then, buying an old warehouse on Diamond Street they renovated and converted into a roastery and coffeehouse. ey also tweaked the brand with a new look and logo unveiled three years ago. Coffee By Design is also now a cer- tified B Corp as a business that meets the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. e owners, who just submitted final documents for recertification, see it more as "changing the world, one coffee cup at a time, by providing customers with sustainably sourced, traceable coffee." 'Bringing people along' For Lindemann, forging ties with cof- fee growers in other countries and her involvement with the International Women's Coffee Alliance has also con- nected her more closely to Portland's immigrant community. Her efforts have also won her respect from industry peers like Phyllis Johnson, of Georgia-based BD Imports, who knows Lindemann professionally and has travelled with her to Burundi. At July's World Coffee Producers Forum in Brazil, Johnson held up Coffee By Design as a small company mak- ing a big impact locally and globally. To describe what drives Lindemann, Johnson cites an African proverb: "Alone I can go fast but together we can go far … Mary Allen believes in bringing people along." Back in Portland at the Olympia Snowe Women's Leadership Institute, executive director Christina P. McAnuff praises Lindemann as a gift, a treasure and one of the Institute's greatest cheer- leaders, adding: "I wish there were more Mary Allens." Asked about what's next, Lindemann says she hopes to do a better job of "tell- ing the stories" of the growers that work with Coffee By Design, travel more after her daughter finishes high school and perhaps pen a book. She also wants to do more public speaking on a topic close to her heart: "How do you dig deep and seek your truth in making change happen." R e n e e C o r d e s , M a i n e b i z s e n i o r w r i t e r, c a n b e r e a c h e d a t r c o r d e s @ m a i n e b i z . b i z a n d @ r s c o r d e s » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY There's no social cause I know of that Mary Allen is not connected to. — Alain J. Nahimana Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center Mary Allen Lindemann leads a tour of Coffee By Design's Diamond Street roasting facility for students in the Council on International Educational Exchange. In her own words Did you have a mentor or role model? I'm incredibly inspired by Annie Lennox — a performer extraordinaire and social activist who has been rec- ognized for her work in the ongoing fight against AIDS and her support of women's rights. She's also a mother, wife, daughter and humanitarian who's both humble and accessible. What advice would you give to your younger self? Don't be afraid to speak your truth even when those around you don't understand. What are you reading this summer? Lately I've been listening to "The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World" by Melinda Gates. It is an inspirational story about someone who has made some unexpected choices like leav- ing her job at Microsoft when having children and working hard to ensure that the privilege she enjoys is used for the greater good. Who would play you in a movie about your life? I love the idea of Audrey Hepburn as the epitome of someone I aspire to be. As far as someone living, I think the English singer-songwriter, record producer and audio engineer Imogen Heap, who thinks outside the box and isn't afraid to begin a song over if she didn't begin in the way she envisioned. I think she would bring the heart and soul of who I am to the screen … probably better than I could.

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